


The Erased 'verse

by Cear_IK



Series: UnderErased [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Manipulation, Genocide, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lack of care of self, Loss, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:47:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9785522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cear_IK/pseuds/Cear_IK
Summary: Darkness. Darkness as far as the eye could see, the mind could sense. A bit melodramatic, yes, but true nonetheless. Darkness, missing the colors that should be present to lighten it. Violet, Yellow, Green, Orange, Blue, Red.... Cyan. Colors that should have lit the heart... but left it so ominously blackened in their absence.1001 Resets of Pain.1001 Resets of Death.





	1. Hope is...

**Author's Note:**

> My one real problem with AO3- There. Are. No. FONTS!! Unless you use a 'work skin' and then use 'CSS Formatting'... which is, since I am borderline techno-illiterate, a problem for me. Yes, I know how to get around the internet- but that's about it. SO! Here is a font-less version formatted to within an inch of it's life. 
> 
> Or maybe not.  
> REGARDLESS, here's a bit of a key for reading this:  
> "Quotations are spoken aloud."  
> *stars are telepathy/spoken in thought  
>  _italics flying solo are Morgaine's thoughts that she thinks to herself_

Empty. That was the word. Nothing but emptiness inside. She just wished that there was emptiness around her to match.

***We can take care of that easily, Partner.**

She ignored the voice. There was nothing she could do to it otherwise.

***What's the matter, Partner? Got 'knife-ing' to say?**

Anger blossomed in the emptiness, but it was dulled with hopeless despair. The voice giggled, happier having drawn a response from her. The world's pacifist soul continued ignoring her genocidal counterpart, standing at a memorial marker that should not have existed, feeling herself lose a piece of herself that should not have been missing for the 999th time. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't cope- all she could was shake. A comforting hand was placed on her shoulder, a startled intake and an even more abrupt bear hug the owner's response to finding her shaking so much.

"SHH, THERE THERE, YOU'RE OKAY."

He didn't understand. She wasn't 'okay', she was never 'okay' anymore. The void in her heart was shaking her apart. All she wanted was her piece back. She was so empty she couldn't even cry anymore. The bones she was pressed into were... wrong... Not...

"PLEASE BE OKAY?"

The worry in his voice pulled her back. He was so important to... She couldn't hurt him. She took a deep breath, the air shuddering into starving lungs. Funny, she hadn't been aware she had stopped breathing. The void inside her hurt, it took up too much space. She breathed around it.

_Just a little longer... Focus..._

"MORGAINE?"

She focused.

"I'm... I'm alright now, Paps." Her voice was dull, flat, even to her ears. She was such a liar. She hadn't been alright for a long time. She pulled away. Turned. Forced herself to actually  _look_ at the memorial marker, study it while ignoring all of the emotions it evoked. She could feel the worried stare burning into her from her companions. She ignored it, like she ignored the snickering from the genocidal one stuck in her head. This grave marker looked older than all the others. It was actually, she discovered, when she studied the inscription, by far the oldest out of the 999 others. 

"Morgaine... Breathe."

Oh. That's why she was starting to feel lightheaded. She forgot to breathe again. She breathed. She continued studying the marker. 

"IS... IS SHE ALRIGHT?"  
"I... I do not know. I do not really think so."  
"WILL SHE BE ALRIGHT, GASTER?"  
"Only time will tell, Papyrus. Only time will tell."

***Yes, time will tell. Who knows that better than you... Partner?**

She ignored the voice, but it was right about one thing. Time would tell. If she Reset enough... For a time, the markers had been getting newer. Her piece had been getting closer. But now... 

"It's older..."

"WHAT?"  
"What is older, Morgaine?"

"I've... I've been resetting a lot, as you know, Gaster." 

"Yes. Your resetting a couple hundred times in succession is what allowed me to come back. Since you somehow broke time."

"Sorry Gaster... This was my 999th reset since I started counting."

"And what made you start counting?" The scientist looked intrigued and a little worried. So he should. She had broken time after resetting almost 500 times consecutively. She raised an arm and pointed to the marker she had made them bring her to. 

"When that took... When the marker started appearing in the timelines." The scientist's eyes widen.

"So you knew..." He doesn't say the name. She just nods. "Is that why..." Another nod. She cleared her throat.

"....My soulmate..."

"Oh. Oh dear. My poor child."

She's not a child, hasn't been for a long time, but she's gotten used to her chronological age, so she no longer minds.

"Can you wait a little while this time, before resetting? I'd like to do a little research, but you haven't given me time."

She's frozen. She can't breathe. Can't move. All she feels is the pain singing with taut viciousness through the void that has become her soul. At least when she resets, there's faint, broken hope backed by granite determination to balance out the pain. But that hope had failed her for the 999th time. She had to reset again,  _she couldn't live like this-_

White, bony hands took hers. A white, cracked face looked into hers.

"I'd like to help."


	2. ...The Most Dangerous Emotion of All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand one more done before I go to bed tonight- or more accurately, this morning. It's 2am! If there's any mistakes I haven't found yet- aah, I'll get them in the mornin'. When I can type without constant typos and actually make some sort of sense. First off: Thank you for making it this far into my fic! Secondly: Here's some of that formatting I was whining about earlier. Thirdly: ... I don't actually have a third point other than I'm tired and delaying my inevitable retreat to my bed. Anyway: Thanks for reading, please comment, rate and review; and Enjoy...? (if you can actually enjoy this..???)

His voice reaches hers through the pain singing through her heart, the void that's replaced her soul, the voice of the genocide soul in her head. 

"I'd like to help."

Slowly, so slowly, so as not to crack, she looks at him. 

_'I'd like to help'._

He had been and was again the Royal Scientist.

_I'd like to help._

He was a first class scientist with a brilliant mind and a gifted sense of intuition.

_**I'd like to help** _

She was so  _stupid_ ,  _Brainless_. She hadn't thought of getting help, yes she was determined, but that was no reason to let her determination take the place of her  _brains-_

"Morgaine-  _breathe_."

His hands were on shoulders now, her skin pressing into the holes in his palms. When had he moved them? Oh. Right. Breathe. She breathed, which seemed to relieve the face in front of hers. She kept forgetting- living was so much harder than the alternative. She'd tried that too, after she had broken the timeline when she'd panicked, but the rules - and Gaster - hadn't allowed it.

_Breathe._

She breathed. 

She was on her knees in the snow, Gaster and the skeleton kneeling beside her. She must have grown faint when she forgot to breathe again. What were they talking about again? Oh yes, Gaster had offered to help. As long as- her breathing hitched, but she wasn't determined for nothing, hadn't reset 999 times for nothing, so she fought to breathe, to stay conscious, even though it was only in unconsciousness that she ever found peace from the constant torment of her loss anymore. 

She would have to stay in this timeline. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see, needing to concentrate on handling the pain that was nearly overwhelming.

_Gaster wants to help.  
_ _Gaster can help._

Slowly, almost too slowly, she built hope out of that phrase, repeating it almost like a mantra. So focused was she, she almost didn't realize when she was scooped up in strong arms. 

"IS SHE ALRIGHT?"

"Papyrus... I do not believe anyone who has been through what she has described to me and done what she has done could be described as 'alright'."

She snuggled into the arms holding her. These arms, too, were wrong, but she was too exhausted by her emotional torment to care much. Stars, she hadn't rested since... in so very long. She simply hadn't been able to, first lost in her torment, then too busy trying to change everything back by resetting. She was still busy - everything was still no right, still changed so wrongly - but the exhaustion set in and she fell into a bruised, restless sleep. 

 

 

 

Gaster looked down at the limp form resting gently in his arms. So very small, so very fragile, yet so very, very determined. Morgaine was still shivering, even in her sleep. Gaster didn't think it was entirely from the cold. So much agony, contained within such a small body. The scientist within him wondered how she did it, speculated what the effects on her soul were. Whatever they were, they couldn't be good. He would have to look at it, but he would do her the decency of not looking at her soul in the snow. Plus, he didn't want to worry Papyrus- worry him more, that was. The poor skeleton was already worried enough, if the soft sound of clacking bones was indication enough. 

"THE HUMAN SHOULD BE WARMER! WE MUST BRING HER SOMEWHERE WARM AND DRY!- WE COULD BRING HER TO MY HOME!" Papyrus concluded.

"I do not believe she wants to wake up in your house, Papyrus, considering the nature of her loss. If she really was mated to your brother in a past timeline-" no need to tell him that Gaster knew the truth to those words "-then she most likely has a lot of memories about living there with you and your brother. Memories that are likely quite painful right now." The change in Papyrus' expression as his face fell would have looked quite comical, if not for the circumstances. Making a snap decision, Gaster continued. "No, I will take her back to the lab. She should be quite warm and comfortable there, and there shouldn't be any memories to prey upon her mind. Additionally, that is where all the equipment I will be using to... help Morgaine will be." No need to tell the young skeleton that he also fully intended to study her as well. Papyrus was still innocent enough to find that particular fact disturbing. 

The thought of teleporting through the void he had been stuck in for an unnamed amount of time left him shuddering, so he headed towards the shore that the Riverperson docked at, Papyrus trailing behind him. Hmm. Seemed Papyrus had formed an attachment to Morgaine in the (very) short time he'd known her in this timeline. Either that, or Papyrus had started to inherit the ability to remember the resets in place of his brother... But that theory was almost ridiculous in its' improbability. More likely, he had just grown a friendly attachment, as was his nature. Besides, if Papyrus were inheriting his brother's power...

That would bode ill indeed. 

* * *

She was warm. She was dry. She couldn't - wouldn't - remember the last time she wasn't in the snow. She had had such a good reason to stay in the snow, and with time stuck in a constant loop- well, not like she could get sick, was it? For that matter, her reason for staying in the snow was still valid, still present. Why, then, wasn't she still in the snow? She opened her eyes. 

At first, all she could see was white ceiling and bright light, but her eyes quickly adjusted and she could see more. She was on a bed... What seemed like a hospital bed? And there were so many machines...? The memory was dim, overlayed by 999 resets of pain, but it finally resurfaced, answering the question o why everything seemed a little familiar. She was in the lab? Why was she in the lab? Another memory resurfaced, this one much more resent, of familiar voices and bones that were wrong. That was right. Gaster must have brought her here after she fell asleep in his arms. That memory brought another one, a darker one, and she shivered, tightening her hands around her arms, huddling in on herself. 

_She would have to stay in this timeline._

_Gaster wants to help_ , she quickly reminded herself, clutching onto the hope that that thought brought like a life-boat against the sea of pain. 

***You sure, Partner? Maybe he just wants to study you.**

She ignored the voice of genocide like always. There was nothing else she could do to it. 

"Oh, you are awake."

Gaster walked into the room, tucking his glasses back against his face.

"You slept so long, you worried Papyrus. Poor Alphys thought she was going to have to wake you up. Or kick Papyrus out." Gaster looked faintly amused at the thought of timid Alphys kicking anyone anywhere. She just blinked.

"How long?" Gaster checked some sort of device he plucked out of the folds of his shadowy trenchcoat. 

"You slept for a day or two." Her eyes widened in consternation. She had slept for a day! Or  _two!_ What right did she have to rest when  **He** -! When she still had a job to do, a wrong to right... A life to save. Her pain surged up and she wen tot bury her hands at the shame of it, but found that she couldn't. Gaster had taken her hands in his. She looked up at his face, slightly startled to find it so close to her own.

"Morgaine... There was no helping it. Your body was exhausted, your energy drained... You would not have lasted much longer. We-" he seemed to hesitate a moment, but he was the infamous Dr. Gaster, he couldn't have "-we took a look at your soul. You... Morgaine, you are missing a large chunk of your soul, and the rest of it is badly damaged and weakened. It is only due to the fact that you are a determined soul that you are even alive at all." She would be fine with that, it was preferable to being alive after all. "Morgaine... if you died, then who would help..." He seemed to know not to mention Him by name. "... who would save the one you are trying to save?"

She froze at that. He was right. If she died, who would save... who would have the power to change the markers back to who they were supposed to be? So she couldn't die. She had a job, and no one to pass it off to. She couldn't escape. She groaned at this, even as the realization filled her with determination to continue. For... To reverse the existence of the markers, she would endure. It was the least she could do. She looked back at Gaster. The scientist seemed to be looking at her thoughtfully. Was what the Other said was true?

"I don't care if you intend to study me, Gaster, as long as you help me and don't... don't endanger my chances of saving..." she trailed off. She couldn't - just couldn't - talk about... About who she was trying to save. Surprisingly, Gaster squeezed the hands he still held; she didn't really know him, but he never seemed like the most emotive of monsters. 

"I am not one for making promises," he started, making her flinch at the similarity to Someone Else who hated making promises, "... but I promise you, Morgaine, I will do my best to help you. Studying your... unique soul and situation is just pleasant side effect of what needs to be done." Looking into his purple eyelights, she could tell he meant it. She nodded, accepting his promise. Taking a deep breath, she slid out of the bed and stood.

"Well then, let's be about it."

 

 

And the faintest glimmer of the most dangerous of all emotions began growing in her empty heart:

# HOPE


	3. Lab Notes

**Leading Scientist:** W.D. Gaster  
 **Affiliate Scientist:** Alphys Dray  
 **RESET:** 999  
 **Day:** 8

The Subject... Morgaine seems to be doing well. She seems, although quiet and subdued, to be functioning normally, even making Alphys and Papyrus (who has refused to go home) smile. However, further study of her soul shows that she is in fact deteriorating the longer she refrains from resetting. She has made no mention of the extreme pain she must be in from the state of her soul, and she downright refuses to talk about her loss. In the week or so she has been staying at the lab, she has gone as far as to leave the room should so much as his name be mentioned. Strangely, the deterioration of her soul worsens after such episodes. I have taken the precaution of forbidding the other two from speaking to her about it. The rate of deterioration has subsided since. However, she is still deteriorating. I fear we do not have much time before a RESET is forced.

* * *

**Leading Scientist:** W.D. Gaster  
 **Affiliate Scientist:** Alphys Dray  
 **RESET:** 999  
 **Day:**  16

Morgaine is defying all expectations. Her soul is very badly deteriorated, to the point where she should be dead from the sheer emotional trauma done to her soul, but she refuses. I am unsure as to how long she can survive on sheer determination, or how her soul will survive the trauma she has and is going through. I have asked Morgaine why she has not Reset yet. She replied that she had hope from my help, and that that hope gave her determination. It is my hypothesis that it is that Determination keeping her alive. Underground can only hope it keeps her sane, as well. Having observed Genocide timelines prior to Morgaine while in the void, I am not eager to experience one myself. The signs, however, are there. I have come across her muttering to herself once or twice. Once I heard her say "Partner". I know that the genocidal one is present. Currently, I have no data to match to the soul. I am not in the habit of hoping, myself, but in this case I feel all I am able to do is hope that Morgaine, with her damaged psyche and even more damaged soul, keeps me from getting a chance to study the genocide soul. A lack of opportunity is a lack of genocide. 

* * *

**Leading Scientist:** W.D. Gaster  
 **Affiliate Scientist:** Alphys Dray  
 **RESET:** 999  
 **Day:**  24

Morgaine has become increasingly on edge, more withdrawn and quiet. She has been making Alphys and Papyrus smile less and less, and now even Papyrus is beginning to notice something is wrong. Morgaine's soul has nearly deteriorated by 100%. The missing piece has still not been located, and it has been discovered that it was not the only piece to have gone missing. From the age of the scarring, all the pieces went missing at around the same time. It is unclear whether or not the pieces were destroyed or have been lost, although the latter is highly unlikely. It appears that Morgaine was SoulBound but survived the destruction of her mate. If this is true, it would explain the deterioration and missing pieces. However, the survival of one's life through the destruction of one's mate is highly improbable, let alone one's sanity. Although there is the matter of Morgaine's warping of time that resulted in my freedom to consider...

Papyrus has been surprisingly useful to the investigation. It seems that Morgaine does not wish to worry him, and so tries harder to hide her deterioration from him than she does for the rest of us. Papyrus, in turn, has already noticed and does his best to encourage Morgaine to emote. Curiously, it appears Morgaine has some difficulty emoting, similar to the lack of emotion found in high-LOVE cases, although Morgaine's LV remains a constant and steady two. She will not speak of how she obtained her LV, although... If what I conjecture is true, then I pity Morgaine her situation the more for it. No one should be forced to turn in violence on their mate.

* * *

**Leading Scientist:** W.D. Gaster  
 **RESET:** 999

I fear the worst is coming to pass. Yesterday, a pile of dust was found inhabiting Alphys' lab coat. Morgaine was found nearby with her hand pinned to the wall by a strange, unfamiliar, dust-covered knife. She would not allow us to touch the knife, but was eventually persuaded to remove the knife herself. The knife has since vanished.

Papyrus was overcome with shock and sadness, and despite her trouble emoting, it was Morgaine who comforted him, even putting off the treatment of her hand to make sure he was alright. Papyrus scolded her when he realized she had not taken care of her own wound, but that was very interesting behavior. I am forming a hypothesis about why Morgaine should put Papyrus' well-being ahead of her own, much as his brother would have. Said hypothesis would pertain as to why Sans is missing from the timelines. However, as what I have is pure conjecture with only very little circumstantial evidence to sustain it, I will refrain from making any official recordings.

This event demonstrates that we have run out of time. The genocide soul is getting restless. I am reluctant to allow it further instances to act. Morgaine's LV has not risen, so I know she was not the one at fault. It appears that she is at her limit.

I can only hope that we are ready. I fear the consequences of failure; for Morgaine- and for the Underground.

 

 


	4. The Final Pacifist Reset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... not really expecting anyone to get this far....   
> For anyone who reads "Little b" (not that I expect anyone to read _that_ either), that will resume as soon as I finish this work. This was my first fanfic I wrote (ever), and finishing it is kind of... interrupting "Little b". It shouldn't take too long to finish this, though, so...

When I wake up from the new RESET, I race through the Ruins, avoiding Toriel. I can get to Snowdin faster if I avoid her fight, and thus, her. I race into the snow, past that stars-damn branch, past the gate, past the Abandoned Sentry Station. My feet feel like they've been given wings, and for the first time in a thousand RESETs, my heart feels lighter. Gaster had taken great pains to warn me against failure, but any progress, no matter how small, would mean absolutely everything to me at this point. I know Papyrus' schedule, so I know where to find him. He looks surprised when I skid to a stop in front of him. Literally- I leave skid marks in the snow.

"WOW, A HUMAN!"

"Papyrus!" I cry, too impatient for him to continue with his script. "Did Gaster succeed?!"

"GASTER? I AM NOT SURE WHO YOU MEAN, HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOES NOT KNOW ANYONE NAMED 'GASTER'. PERHAPS YOU COULD INTRODUCE US?" My heart sinks, but I have to make sure...

"Papyrus, who is the Royal Scientist?"

"ALPHYS IS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST, OF COURSE! EVEN BABYBONES KNOW THAT, I AND I AM NO BABYBONES! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Poor Gaster. He'd lost his freedom and was probably stuck in the void, scattered across time and space. Again. Or something worse. I brace myself for bad news. Losing Gaster meant it was highly unlikely any progress was made, and that there was little hope continuing his research in helping me right the wrong done to the world, to me.

"Papyrus..." I say hesitantly, unwilling to go on but knowing I must. "Where's your brother?"

"MY BROTHER? THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS NO BROTHER! BUT IF I DID, I'D BE THE OLDER BROTHER AND TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING! NYEH HEH HEH!"

I'm floored. Of all the responses I could have, should have, had gotten, this was NOT one of them. I cling to my last remaining hope like a lifeline, my voice audibly trembling as I struggle not to break. Again. 

"P-Papyrus... Where is- Where is Sans?" My voice is barely audible and his name sends pain through my soul like a knife-wound. I can only cling to the faintest hope... But even that hope is turned against me. 

"SANS? I KNOW OF NO SANS. IS THIS SANS ANOTHER HUMAN? PERHAPS YOU COULD INTRODUCE BOTH SANS AND GASTER TO ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

My world breaks. The genocide soul had completely erased him from the timeline. All I can feel is an all-consuming pain. He's gone. There is no more hope. No more reason to stay Determined. My nails sink into my arms and I hear screaming. I'm screaming. The pain is too much. I see Papyrus, running towards me looking scared while I sink to my knees, and blessedly, I pass out. But even in the black unconsciousness, I cannot truly escape the pain.

* * *

When I wake up, I'm lying in a patch of golden flowers. I don't remember doing so, but it appears I've Reset. This makes 1001. Wait- what happened to Reset #1000??

***Welcome back, Partner.**

"Howdy, Partner."

I ignore both the voice and the flower, though I keep a wary eye on the flower. He has tried to kill me more than once, after all. Now, what was I doing...? Ah yes. Gaster had said he would help, and after spending an excruciatingly long time in that one timeline, I had Reset again to test the results of what he had come up with. I wonder what happened to Reset #1000? No matter. I had to hope that it was good. I feared what it would be otherwise.

***Heh. It's funny when you lie to yourself, Partner.**

Out of sheer reflex, I ignore the statement. And I most certainly ignore the implications.

***Heh. Suit yourself. Your reaction will be all the more entertaining.**

I shiver. The flower just watches. His expression is... anticipatory? I shiver again. That does not bode well. It never does, but I am Determined not to let those two have their way. Not ever.

_Not even if He's truly gone?_ an insidious thought whispers from the back of my own mind but I resolutely ignore it, too. No. Gaster said he'd help me fix the problem. He was brilliant. He'd know what to do. I race through the ruins, avoiding Toriel. Why do I feel a sense of Deja Vu? Why is there dread in my soul instead of the hope I should be filled with? I hit the snow, slipping and sliding in my haste, hurrying to dispel the negative feelings in my heart. Past the goddamn branch, past the gate, past the Abandoned Sentry Station-  _what_ _is up with the goddamn Deja Vu?!_ My feet feel dragged down by it, my heart is heavy with the foreboding it brings. I'm panting with the weight of it by the time I skid to a stop in front of Papyrus. He looks at me and blinks.

"GOOD TO SEE YOU IN GOOD HEALTH, HUMAN!"

wh- _What?_ My mind stutters. This is the first time he's seen me- in this timeline, that is. But that's absurd! The power to remember events through distortions was always... Had never belonged to Papyrus! If he  _did_ remember, that would mean-!

"Good... health?" I ask, hesitantly.

"YES! LAST TIME WE MET, YOU COLLAPSED! I HOPE YOU DO NOT DO SO AGAIN!"

No... no no no  _no!_ This  _cannot_ be happening. I sink to my knees, hardly aware of the tears dripping down my cheeks. Papyrus' expression turns to one of consternation in an instant as he rushes to help me, but I barely feel him. I ask him the questions I need him to answer, even though I already know.

"P-Papyrus... Do you know who Gaster is?"

"YEAH! I TRIED LOOKING FOR HIM AFTER YOU ASKED ME THE FIRST TIME, BUT I COULDN'T FIND ANY MENTION OF HIM! THEN I FOUND AN ABANDONED LAB IN MY BASEMENT THAT HAD REALLY OLD RECORDS OF HIM! APPARENTLY HE WAS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST BEFORE ALPHYS, BUT HE HASN'T BEEN SEEN FOR A LONG TIME AND NO ONE REMEMBERS HIM! IT'S REALLY STRANGE!"

My heart sinks in confirmation. I should be surprised at the information he has given me, but all I can feel is my despair. Poor Gaster. He had erased himself again- in pursuit of helping me fix everything.

"That's good Papyrus... You did well... What of- of Sans?" Even his name makes my soul spasm with the force of my anguish.

"I... I AM SORRY, HUMAN. I COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING ABOUT ANYONE NAMED SANS."

Even knowing what his answer had to be, my heart drops lower than the depths of the True Lab. Papyrus, not knowing what to do or how to handle my tears, just holds me, and I? I just sob my heart out into his chest. His touch is meant to be comforting, but to me, it's just a reminder of my loss, because that job should belong to... to someone else. Even now, knowing He's gone, it hurts too much for me to say his name. Knowing he's gone... There's nothing left for me. I can't exist - here - it's too painful, there's too much anguish and heartache- but the rules... I'm not allowed to just stop.

***There's another way to get what you want, Partner** **.**

My will is too shattered to push them away this time... or that is what I tell myself. Maybe, just maybe though, the scary truth is that I  _want_ to hear what the genocidal soul has to say. Whatever the reason, instead of ignoring them like I should, I respond to them.

_*What other way?! He's **DEAD**. Sans is  **DEAD** because you - we - killed him!!_

Admitting that to myself, even in the privacy of my own mind, just about tears my soul apart. It doesn't matter that the Other one took control for the split second it took to kill him. That's just an excuse. The fact is that he died in my arms, and I will never, ever forgive myself for it.

_*There is **NO** way we can undo that! I've  **tried**. He's gone.... So don't even  **try** to lie to me about that!_

The presence in my head just smirks.

***Why would I LIE to you, Partner? You know I only ever tell you the truth.**

The Other had a point there. They usually took  _delight_ in telling me every horrible truth.

"...HUMAN?"

Oh my stars, I had forgotten about Papyrus. This was Not a conversation I should be having, let alone expose him to. I take a deep, shuddering breath. Now that i had a plan - even one so thin and despicable as holding a conversation with the Genocide Soul - I had stopped crying. I gave Papyrus a hug. 

"Thanks, Papyrus... for everything. For supporting me, for being there... For trying to help me make things better." I intended to stop there, but something prompts me to continue, to say just one more thing to him. I pull away, cupping his face in my hands, memorizing it. His expression is so sad, I feel guilty for being the one responsible for it. Papyrus is the one person who should never, ever, be sad. 

I don't know what comes next, but nothing good ever comes from the Other one. Maybe  _that_ is what prompts me to say what I do.

"...Goodbye, Papyrus."

His sad expression becomes alarmed, but it was already too late- I had started the RESET.


	5. A Deal With Genocide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally two different chapters... But the originals were really short, so I combined them by taking advantage of the ability to break up works by putting a line down. Yay!

After the Reset, I once again found myself in the field of flowers.

"Heh. That was fast. Find what you were looking for?"

I open my mouth, but the Other beats me to it. 

***Asriel. Play nice. She's agreed to talk.**

Flowey shuts up but keeps smirking. Interesting that he can hear the Other- I've always known that they were another soul, but no one has ever even sensed them... except... Sans... I never knew if he could sense them or not. Also interesting- the Other had called Flowey 'Asriel'. 

***Now that we're not where that one can interrupt us-**

"Why don't you just get rid of him?" Flowey interrupts, looking innocent. But I know what he meant... and that makes me  _furious_. 

" _Hey_ _"_   I hiss, startling him. "Don't you  _ever_ threaten Papyrus." The stupid flower just keeps smirking at me, so I drop my voice into a growl. "Or you're going to have a   b a d   t i m e ."

The flower starts in shock, then gives me an indecipherable look.

"... For a second there, you sounded so much like the smiley trashbag-" I actually growled this time, and now the weed is watching me warily "-it's kind of creepy." Both of us are so busy staring eachother down, we jump when the Other One starts snickering.

***Heh. Who would have thought the Pacifist would have such a bite?**

The flower just stared, then snorted, joining in the snickering. I just blinked. The Other was right- I was a pacifist. Normally. I don't really care if you attack me. But stars above, don't ever hurt someone I consider to be mine. I guess these two never learned that. Even after all that time Flowey spent in his damn pot. 

***So... Continuing the conversation: I know how to get what you want, Partner.**

"But... how?" I ask, feeling a little worn out and defeated by everything. Despite the Other's words... I now there is nothing I can do. No matter what happens, there is not bringing Sans back. It felt kind of... good, saying his name after all this time. Still felt like my soul was shattering, but I deserved that. Saying his name -  _Sans'_ name - felt like I was getting closer to him. Like I was no longer avoiding him. No longer hoping for something that wasn't possible. 

***You can't bring him back... But you can end it.**

"How? I've  _tried_. It never sticks." I all but whine.

***Hush. That's because you never asked me.**

"Well?!" I ask, suddenly angry. "How?! If you know all the answers, tell me!!"

***Heh. It works better if you just let me show you.  
**

* * *

* _Are you sure about this?_

"Very sure, Partner. I doubt you'd have the guts to start the method you'd need to finish this."

Having the Other in control felt... wrong. Very wrong. But I had little choice. This was the last way left for me, the last option untried. Or so I told myself. Truth was, it felt like I had made a horrible, horrible mistake. The Other hadn't touched Mom - Toriel - the first time she came to 'rescue' us from Flowey. But the first Froggit we ran into... I'd tried taking back control, but the Other easily overpowered me. I'd almost had a crying fit right then and there, but that wouldn't have helped anyone... And I was Determined to bear witness as they continued dusting everyone they came across. WE were nearing Mom's house. I was so worried for her safety... even though the Other had already told me what they intended to do. I could only hope they did it quickly. I- I wish there was another way... But the only way for me to stop existing was to erase the world... And the only way to do that was... 

I saw a black tree. A black tree with no leaves... No. Oh no. I had just run out of time.

"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would."

 _NO._ I know what's coming. The Other told me. I start fighting, even though I know I am powerless to stop it. Even though... in order for me to disappear...  _it_ has to happen.

_Run mom! Run!_

I don't know why I scream- she can't hear me. I do it anyway. I scream so loudly, that, trapped in my own head as I am, I can't hear her, even though I watch her mouth move - watch her smile - through eyes that were once mine.

***Oh stop fighting, Partner. You knew what was going to happen. You want this to happen.**

_No..._ I protest weakly, yet knowing that they're right. I can only watch in horror as Mom lets us into her house, feeds us, gives us a room to rest in. 

No.

"Don't follow me."

_No._

"Last warning."

_NO._

I start fighting the Other as we follow Mom down the hallway, but... to no avail.

We reach the Door.

I throw my  _all_ into regaining control, losing contact with everything but the fight for dominance. I'm slowly eking out a victory- too slowly. When, finally, I am in control again, I am greeted by the sight of a dust-covered purple dress, and a- no,  _the_ knife in my hand. Stars, it  _hurts_. I reset again.

***Awww... Ashamed of ourselves, are we? Feeling REGRET,  _Partner?_**

"Guess they didn't last, did they? What, didn't have the guts to go through with it?"

"No... But when you killed mo-  _Toriel_ , I realized that if we're going to kill everyone... I want to take responsibility. If we kill everyone... I'm going to be the one wielding the knife."

 ***. . .  
** ". . ."

I can feel both the flower and the Other just look at me. Then the Other grinned.

***Well well... This should be _entertaining._**

 

 

1003 Resets after I started counting, the second Reset after I had made my fatal decision... I started my first Genocide Run.


	6. Siblings

Well, I can say that I'm going to be the one wielding the knife, but in practice- I've never, ever used one. The Other just sighs.

***Guess I'm gonna have to give you a few lessons, huh? Tell you what, Partner- for the entertainment value, I'll give you those lessons for free.**

Flowey is just leering at me. He's still leering at me when we hear footsteps. I take deep breaths as Flowey shoots me one last leer and disappears. Mo-  _Toriel_ walks around the corner.

***Don't practice on her.**

They ignore my internal horrified gasp.

***She's too powerful- she is a boss monster, after all.**

_*Like I would!_

Toriel brings us through the traps to the training dummy. 

***Good... You can practice on this.**

I talked to the dummy, as I always had. Toriel was pleased- I hadn't even heard her speak over the Other's voice. She left for the next room, but I stayed behind at the urging of the Other.

*** _Practice..._ Or Fail.**

So I raised the blade that appeared in my hand.  _The Genocide Knife._ I don't know anything about it - how it comes, where it goes, what it's made of - I just know that it appears when the genocide soul - or I - need to attack.

 

 _Failure to disappear scared me more than killing my friends_. How messed up was that?

 

I swing the blade clumsily a couple times, unfamiliar with having - let alone using - a weapon in my hand. I shadow-boxed the dummy a few times, familiarizing myself with the knife. I was a bit more hesitant about actually attacking the dummy. The Other stayed silent, although I could feel their amusement at my antics. 

***Oh for stars sake, it's just a dummy. HIT IT.**

Startled, I swung my blade at the dummy's body. It was a wild, uncoordinated blow- but it dealt max damage, striking the dummy precisely at its' weakest point. The dummy exploded as I stared in awe-struck horror at the blade in my hands. I had  _felt_ it direct my strike. The Other snickered.

***Cool blade, hunh? Thank me later.**

I shivered, knowing that despite my feelings now, if I followed through with my plan... I probably would feel like thanking them. Thanking someone for a tool that maximized my killing ability to kill someone... No, not just anyone, but my  _friends.._ Just how screwed up have I become?

 _But what other choice do I have?_ I thought fiercely to myself as I cleaned the blade and placed it in my pocket. 

***Unless you want me to take over... Hurry up already!**

And so it went. All I remember of my first few fights is that they were much harder than my fights as a pacifist, and the Other's voice:

***This is how you fight.  
** ***This is how you kill.**

I honestly stopped functioning. I stopped thinking; I was numb, acting on instinct and the Other's orders.

***Dodge. Strike. Repeat.**  
***Dodge. Strike. Kill.  
** ***Clean the blade. Walk forward.**

I didn't even realize there were no save points until I died to Undyne, having avoided Papyrus. Dying  _hurt_. It pulled me out of my fugue just in time to wake up in that patch of golden flowers.

"wh-What?"

***Heh. You died, stupid.**

"I-... what? I- I Reset? I have to go through all that  _again?!"_

*** 'Fraid so, _Partner_. Oh wait. You're a genocide soul now too, aren't you? So I guess that makes you my  _sister_.  
**

* * *

I stayed in that golden patch - that  _hated_ golden patch - for a long time, hiding from Toriel's daily visits. I didn't want to fight again. Didn't want to kill. I didn't want to hurt anyone ever again, but the soul-cracking pain I felt was still there. It never healed, never dulled, never went away. It only grew as time wore on, until I was driven to my feet once again. The unbearable, soul-shattering pain... It filled me with Determination to disappear-  _no matter the cost._

 

### This time, when I walked forward, I did it with my eyes open and murder in my heart.


	7. Papyrus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was kinda short, have another one.
> 
> This is also the chapter that will help Somniphobia make sense.

I walked into the vacant town frustrated, knife cleaned and tucked away safely.

"Where are the friggin' save points?!" I exclaimed. The Other snickered.

***Who knows? I certainly don't.**

My eyes narrow in suspicion, but I decide not to question them right now. They've only spectated for this round. And all the rounds before it. In fact, the Other seems to have been content with sitting back and enjoying the spectacle ever since those first two rounds. What is keeping them entertained is the fact that I keep  _dying_. And that every time I do, I inevitably Reset. And thus begins another round.

"Fine" I grumbled as I make my way around, gathering all the items I can in order to  _not die_. That had become my number one objective besides my overall objective of erasing everyone in the Underground, because dying meant  _resetting_ , and that meant re _starting_ , and I  _hated_ that. I continued on.

* * *

***Why are you sneaking around, Sister?**

* _Shhh... I don't wan to chance running into Papyrus!_

I was skulking along the treeline on the path between Snowdin and Waterfall, actually glad of the permanently nasty blizzard. Anything to help conceal my presence. Not that it seemed to matter if I did or not. The first dozens of timelines Papyrus had always been there, waiting for me so he could be a hero and change my mind. But after the first several dozen, his expression started falling farther and farther. Now well past the first couple hundred attempted genocide runs, I never saw him anymore. Still though, I didn't want him to see me like this, so I acted like he could show up at any moment. Isn't that what he always used to say- "Always be prepared"? Or, as another voice in my memory put it, "better safe than sorry, kid." Even through the numbing effects of my cumulative LV, the memory of that voice hurt, newly echoing with a feeling of guilt. I shoved the memory into a box with the other ones and slammed the lid, focusing on not getting wet. After doing this so many times, I knew where everyone this side of Waterfall was. Where they hid. All their attacks. And all their weaknesses. I could (and had) done this part of the route on autopilot. This time I wasn't  _quite_ on autopilot - I was tired of being wet and cold - but I certainly wasn't thinking of what I was doing. No. I was thinking about how to kill the Undying. It was she who had caused me to Reset each and every time since my last voluntary Reset, when I had regained control. And each and every time I had to start all over and kill everyone all over again. I  _HATED_ it. Already, my reactions to Toriel were... dulled. Dulled by familiarity and LOVE. My LV wasn't resetting with the rest of the world- yet another reason to want this over quickly. I wanted to be erased before I lost myself to my LV. So for that to happen I had to kill the Undying, and for  _that_ to happen, I had to-

"HUMAN."

I flinched, startled, and froze. That voice. That voice belonged to Papyrus, but that tone... The tone was not at all Papyrus. Also- why was Papyrus in the woods with me and not out on the path? And how in Stars name did he sneak up on me?

"HUMAN. I HAVE INTERCEPTED YOU TO GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE. THIS IS YOUR FINAL CHANCE: AFTER THIS THERE WILL BE NO MORE CHANCES. AFTER THIS, I WILL STOP TRYING TO SAVE YOU." The words were all Papyrus, but the attitude... wasn't. "I USED TO BELIEVE IN YOU A LONG TIME AGO. I BELIEVE IN YOU NO LONGER, BUT FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE, TAKE THIS LAST CHANCE."

When I turned around, it was indeed Papyrus speaking to me, but... His voice wasn't the only thing that had changed. The first thing I noticed was that his 'Battle Body' had either been heavily modified or swapped out entirely, because what he was wearing now was true armor. The second thing I noticed was that Papyrus no longer looked as sweet, young, or innocent as he once had. He looked... older, sharper. More experienced. He even had a few new scars. I took a steadying breath.

 _What the actual fuck happened to him?!_  

"Wh-" I cleared my throat. "What happens if I don't take your 'last chance', Papyrus?"

"THEN I WILL HAVE TO DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO STOP YOU RIGHT HERE." The frigidness of his voice shocked me and sent a thrill of fear up my spine. I had known my soulmate had been the Judge; I wondered if Papyrus had inherited that, too. After all... Papyrus inherited Sans' ability to recall timelines- the only question was, what else had he inherited. And if he really did intend to use force to stop me, did I even want to find out?

"YOUR ANSWER, HUMAN?"

I didn't want to fight Papyrus. More than that, I couldn't. I physically couldn't raise a hand in violence to him. At the same time, though, what he asked for was physically impossible for me. I couldn't stand my existence, and there was only one way left to try. I could no more  _not_ try than I could attack Papyrus. I was stuck.

"Papyrus, please..."  
"I DO NOT WANT ANY EXCUSES, HUMAN. A SIMPLE YES OR NO SHOULD SUFFICE." His commanding voice easily overrode my weak one. "YOUR ANSWER, HUMAN." My body trembled against the two conflicting urges. My soul, overridden by the LOVE I had already accumulated, said 'FIGHT'; my heart said 'MERCY'.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out- I didn't know what to say. Papyrus had told me that the only thing he would accept out of my mouth was 'yes' or 'no', and truthfully, the only thing I could offer him were excuses anyway.I made a couple more false starts before sinking to my knees with a sob. Papyrus watched me with an uncharacteristically blank face.

"I can't- I can't-"

"YOU CAN'T WHAT? CAN'T ACCEPT YOUR LAST CHANCE? CAN'T STOP MURDERING MY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS? I AM DISAPPOINTED. BUT I CAN NOT SAY I AM SURPRISED. WHY SHOULD SOMEONE WHO'S MURDERED HALF THE UNDERGROUND COUNTLESS TIMES ACTUALLY HAVE A CONSCIENCE, LET ALONE ACTIVE MORALS?" He sighed, sounding resigned. I choked as I felt magical energy being drawn and concentrated into an attack, a bone manifesting in Papyrus' hand. My shaking started to be out of fear, rather than confliction- I couldn't fight him. If I couldn't attack him, I couldn't defend myself, and - forgetting all the times I had  _done just that_ as a pacifist - fighting someone without the option to defend myself petrified me. 

"No- please-"

"PLEADING FOR MERCY? HOW HYPOCRITICAL. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU CUT DOWN A MONSTER WHO PLEADED WITH YOU? HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU DENIED OTHERS MERCY? IT IS FITTING THAT IT IS NOW YOU WHO ARE DENIED MERCY, DON'T YOU THINK?" I could barely hear him through the terror pounding through my body and the Other cackling in the back of my mind. "WELL THEN," Papyrus continued, raising his chosen weapon, "THIS IS GOODBYE THEN." All I could think of was  _NOT HERE_ while he brought his weapon down. 

And suddenly, I wasn't.

 

 

 

 

 

The calm dripping of Waterfall's water replaced the tense rustle of Snowdin's snowfall. Papyrus was nowhere nearby.

***. . . Stars, Sister... You teleported. I thought only the comedian could do that. Interesting...**

I didn't answer them. I was still too shell-shocked. They snickered.

***Besides, who knew?! Sweet baby Papyrus could be so cruel. I almost didn't recognize the naive innocent Papyrus in that cruel, caustic monster that attacked you! I only recognized him because there's only two- excuse me, one skeleton in the Underground! How fun is this!**

I didn't move. Didn't react. I focused on breathing past everything, the overwhelming pressure of everything I felt. I didn't even know what I felt- I couldn't parse the pressure, couldn't sort the storm. I felt cold, so cold my body felt numb.

***What are you doing, waiting for Papyrus to catch up with you?**

_That_ got me moving, deeper into Waterfal, killing all in my way.

 

### That timeline was the first time I defeated and killed the Captain of the Royal Guard.


	8. Prelude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typing this at work on a work computer in between movie sets (times when the movies get out/go in). Know this is short, but bear with me!  
> Also, thanks UltimateGamer, for commenting. You've been giving me the courage to go forward and actually finish this- and I think I did!

Papyrus watched as the human walked forward to meet him under the sunlight in Justice Hall. They looked none the worse for wear, but Papyrus knew how many times that human had died by his hand, let alone the hands of the other Boss Monsters of the Underground. He - and they - alone knew how many times the human had died only to go back to the beginning to start over. How many times he'd watched everyone  _else_ fall to dust. No matter how murderous, however many times the kid killed, they never, ever attacked him. At this point he was sure it was some sort of psychological torture, making him watch all he'd ever known crumble over and over again. The times he'd killed the human, he'd either managed to catch them off guard while they rested or cornered them. He'd taken to waiting here, in Justice Hall, where  _they_ would have to come to  _him_ , when the human gained control of their teleporting and his sneak attacks stopped working. 

"Papyrus." The human eyed him warily. Good- he'd given them ample reason not to trust him, and a small part of him (the petty part) was glad that the human feared someone in the Underground.

"HUMAN." Just because he hated them to the very core of his being didn't mean he had to be rude. The human shuddered, but kept their mouth shut- good. They'd given up on pleading with him, then. It never worked, and hearing them making excuses only made him hate them all the more.

"WILL YOU TRY TO TELEPORT PAST ME AGAIN TO FIGHT THE KING? OR HAVE YOU LEARNED YOUR LESSON?" They shuddered and ducked their head a bit without taking their eyes off him.

"No Papyrus, I've learned my lesson." The last time they had tried that, he had joined the fight with his King against them. They hadn't lasted very long at all. 

"WILL YOU FINALLY STOP BEING A COWARD AND FIGHT ME?" They took a deep breath.

"No." The concise, clear answer shocked him, but he didn't have time for that because they were standing right in front of him - _the damned teleportation_ \- and their hand was on his chest -  _oh stars, he was going to_ die -

The world  _flickered_ , and suddenly he was standing in snow, the air cold against his bones.

He was in Snowdin, by the open door to the Ruins.

_**"NO!!"** _

* * *

The crown fell into the pile of dust for the first time in all the timelines. The human almost ritualistically cleaned her knife, acting almost apathetic about defeating the monster that had killed her at least a hundred times and reaching the long awaited end of her journey (or so she thought).

"What now?" Her voice was nearly void of all tone or inflection.

***Kill the skeleton.**

"Before that." Her voice was still flat, but the genocide soul still heard the irritation in it.

***Fine. You should kill the Surface too to give this the best shot of working.**

The human nodded, taking the King's soul and moving through the barrier wit it. The human had become less vocal the more LV she accumulated.

 

 

The surface had many strong mages that took exception to being killed. It was too vast to destroy it with a single knife, regardless. Destroying the Surface required new tactics.

* * *

The next Reset, the Human took a shortcut straight to the barrier. Using the King's soul, they passed through and became a student at the Mage Academy. Five Resets later and a three-time graduate, they finally perfected the World-class Destruction spell they had specifically created to end life on the Surface, the same way they had once ended life Underground with their Knife. Seven Resets after their first arrival on the Surface, the human successfully wiped the Surface clean of life  _and_ returned to the Underground to complete their genocide run.

 

 

### 1000 Resets

after their first genocide run and 1001 Genocide runs in total;

### 2002 Resets

after they first started counting;

The Human finally succeeded. The only being alive in that entire world were Papyrus and herself. 

 

## The long-awaited Final Chapter had finally begun.


	9. Final Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should be a decently long chapter. Hopefully I captured the tense atmosphere, but it might be a bit anticlimactic (I tried, okay?)  
> Stay tuned for the epilogue!

Positions really had changed.

The human stood waiting in Justice Hall, watching the skeleton approach her through the gathering shadows of the twilight outside the barrier.

***He's the only one left. Kill him, and you'll have what you wish.**

The human didn't respond to the other soul's voice in her head. She merely drew her knife and bent her knees, preparing to attack. Her expression remained impassive, her eyes eerily blank. No emotion showed in her expression or body language- she felt no emotion in truth. The skeleton readied his long limbs to defend himself. Both human and monster sank further into their respective stances. The human tensed, and-

Nothing happened.

Despite being literally heartbeats away from starting her attack, the human didn't move. Didn't so much as twitch. 

Heartbeats turned to seconds, then seconds turned into a full minute. The skeleton's face twisted in confusion, though he didn't dare relax his defensive stance.

***What the hell. Finish. It.**

The human didn't move a muscle. The singular minute became multiple minutes.

***MOVE, dammit! Attack!**

Nothing. The skeleton slowly, cautiously relaxed his stance. The human stayed frozen.

***KILL HIM**

**"No."**

After so long unresponsive, Papyrus wasn't the only one who was surprised when the human spoke. Both he and the Other jumped. The Other was surprised- the human had become completely non-verbal a few timelines prior. 

***No what? Hurry up and kill him. I thought you wanted to erase the world?**

"No."

***Well then, you just died several hundred times, killed everyone over and over, and wasted my time for nothing.**

"No, I will erase the world. But I won't kill him. I won't attack Papyrus. Besides, there's one more person other than Papyrus who needs to go before the end of the world."

***What do you mean...?**

The Other sounded worried. Papyrus looked confused as he watched the human seemingly speaking to herself. Magic started gathering at the human's call as she straightened from her attack position.

"In the course of human life, it sometimes becomes necessary to define one's self."

At the start of the formal incantation, the Other finally realized what was happening and became frantic.

***Don't you dare! You can't!**

*** _Watch me._**

The human ignored the parasitical soul's cries of denial, finishing the spell and activating the magic with a vengeance.

"I recognize more than myself within my heart. I name you 'Other' and cast you out!"

When the magic cleared and everyone could see again, there were two humans standing in the Justice Hall before an amazed skeleton.

"WOWIE..."

For several breaths, the skeleton's soft voice was all that could be heard in the Hall as the two humans stared at each other. Neither human had ever met the other face to face before, yet both knew the other like they knew themselves. They had been living in each other's heads for quite a while, after all.

**"Sister."**

"Sibling."

"WOWIE! HUMAN, I NEVER KNEW YOU HAD A SIBLING!"

The newcomer cast a withering glance at the skeleton.

**"Is this why you evicted me? You were too much of a wuss to kill him so you made me manifest so I could?"**

**_"Don't you dare touch him."_ **

Surprise - tinged with fear - snapped the Other's gaze back to their ex-host. Tears rolled down the human's cheeks, but by rights her glare alone should have cast the Other down to hell.

"I always knew you weren't me. I didn't mind though- I was happy to let you hitch a ride. Happy to live and experience life for the both of us. But if you think for  _one second_ that I'm just going to keep being passive and just let you sit there all  _content_ and  _happy_ after you  _used_ me, killed me bonded soul mate  _with my hands..._

 

**_"You have another thing_ _coming._ **

 

**"You have no idea how much I've wanted this. I didn't even think it could happen, until we found that spell at the Academy. So now I'm going to make one more selfish decision... And _end_ you."**

The Other looked shell-shocked. Despite the LOVE, despite the seemingly endless cycle of genocide, they had never expected the former pacifist soul to have changed  _that much_. And to not only have changed that much to level all that rage-induced, LOVE-fueled killing intent at  _them_... It was a lot for the original genocide soul - who suddenly found themselves out-classed at the business end of the Blade - to absorb.

The skeleton, on the other hand, no longer looked amazed. Instead, a sharp, calculative look had come over him, as he watched - and listened to - the two humans interact. He stayed on the sidelines and observed... for now.

The fight he stood witness to was brutal, one genocide soul against another. Both combatants wielded knives; both combatants possessed magic. Neither combatant seemed to have a problem using those tools viciously as possible in order to not just defeat their foe, but annihilate them. Biting, clawing, kicking, slashing, stabbing. Teleporting, blasting, throwing each other around- the humans fought each other with every ounce of power, physical and magical, they possessed. Sought to kill each other with every dirty trick and vicious move they knew. Neither held anything back. They fought until the tile in the Hall crumpled, they fought until half the pillars collapsed, until everything was covered in blood.

Until finally, finally, the former pacifist emerged victorious of the most brutal fight Papyrus had ever seen, sitting on the fallen human's chest. The loser coughed weakly, blood dribbling from their mouth.

"So... the student-"  _cough_ "-surpasses the the master." The human - the same human the skeleton had been seeking to dust - leaned forward, knife in hand.

**"Yes, the 'student' has."** They brought the knife up to the Other's throat for the final strike and paused, looking at the Knife thoughtfully.  **"Thank you."** They said, seemingly out of the blue. The Other cocked an inquisitive - and surprised - eyebrow.  **"When you gave me this blade, you said to 'thank you later'. I guess now's a good a time as any."** The grin the human gave the Other held neither kindness or humor in it. It was the last thing the Other saw.

* * *

"I did it, Papyrus. It's finally over."

The new genocide soul was lying on her back, covered in wounds and blood, utterly spent- but victorious. The entire world lay dead and dusted outside the Hall, and she had finally avenged herself, her soulmate, and her world on the soul that had started everything.

"No more violence. No more killing. No more Resets. No more anything." There was a strange tone in her voice, an almost giddy relief, but no happiness. "I end myself here and now, and the world will be erased forever- you'll never have to deal with me again." The skeleton simply stood by her side, looking down at her outstretched,  _vulnerable_ form. "... Papyrus?"

". . . WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO?" The skeleton's tone was uncharacteristically flat, without the boisterous energy she had loved or the remorseless hat that had since consumed it. The genocide soul sat up, still vulnerable, an uncomprehending look on her face.

". . . I am going to kill myself, and when I do, I'm going to erase the whole world."

"AND I? WHAT ABOUT ME? WILL YOU KILL ME TOO?" The genocide soul's look shifted from incomprehension to horror. 

"I could  _never_ raise my blade against you, Papyrus,  _ever_." She denied vehemently.

"YOU WILL HAVE TO. I NO LONGER HAVE A PURPOSE IN THIS WORLD. I REFUSE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT FRIENDS OR FAMILY." The genocide soul was shaking again, pain and horror clear in her expression and the tears beginning to drip down her face. 

"Papyrus..." she began in a weak voice, but the skeleton's firm head shake cut her off.

"NO HUMAN. I FAILED MY WORLD AND I WILL DIE WITH IT. IT IS YOUR FAULT MY WORLD IS GONE- TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT." The words were cold, the tone venomous, but the skeleton's intent was clear- he would not take no for an answer.

"May- May I h-have a hug good-goodbye?" She asked, raising her arms, crying harder.

The skeleton looked at her like she was the scum of the world.

"NO."

With the single firm word, he turned around and sat, rejecting her.

Fully sobbing now, the human nearly broke down, but he had asked her to do something for him, and at the end of the world, by the stars she would do it.

"G-good-d b-bye, P-Papy-r-rus." She sobbed before sliding her knife between the uppermost vertebrae and into his skull. Papyrus didn't feel a thing as he turned to dust.

 

The same could not be said for the genocide soul.

She screamed as the pain of her emotions wracked her body. The world faded around her as she chose to erase it, and with it, hopefully herself.


	10. Epilogue...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Thank you so much for sticking with me.   
> ...or is it?
> 
> Sorry this is so short, not really it's own chapter... but it didn't belong with the final chapter, so here it is.

A black star appeared in the endless expanse of emptiness. When it disappeared, there was a body.

 

 

The human sat up.

 

She should be dead, but that wasn't what surprised her. No. She was clean. She was not wounded.  _That_ was what was surprising, because her last memories were  _not_ clean or whole or... peaceful. She should be dead, but here she was. She couldn't even feel disappointed- LOVE and repetition had taken that from her. All that effort, all that pain... and for what? The only good she could see was that her world was over. The inhabitants would never suffer again...  _Papyrus_ would never suffer again.

Looking around her, there was... nothing. Nothing and no one, as far as the eye could see. Her world truly was gone- but she hadn't gone with it. She felt kind of... numb.

The only thing in her inventory, when she checked it, was a blue hoodie with a soft fluffy lining. There was nothing and no one else, so she took it out for the first time since she had put it in. As soon as she touched it, though, the hoodie started turning black, the darkness overtaking the whole hoodie until, finally, every bit of it was as black as the LOVE that had manifested to fill the gaping hole in her soul.

That, more than anything, drove it home that she was no longer Morgaine, the Pacifist Soul.

Looking at the blackened hoodie in that empty space, she came to a decision. If she was no longer Morgaine, then she would shorten it to Morgue- fitting, since all around her was only death. She could not die - that was clear - so instead she would wander. Perhaps someday, somewhere, she would find something new, exciting. If there only ever was this limbo, that would be fitting, too. Decision made, she slipped the jacket on and started walking.

Never noticing the shimmer of cyan and crimson buried deep beneath the black of the jacket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full Title: Epilogue... Or the Beginning?
> 
> There will probably be more one-shots with Morgue. Maybe another multi-chapter fic. I don't know where the endless expanse she ended up is (void or anti-void?) or what multiverse character she'd meet first. Probably a multi-dimensional being, at least until she figured out how to leave whatever limbo she got stuck in. Any thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> Like always, please rate and review!
> 
> I do everything myself, and no matter how much I go through these things, there's always some error that makes it into the final post! grr.


End file.
